1878.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



37 



BROWN LEGHORNS. 



■Winners of highest Ccntenninl mcdiil. 

 Bred by Benson & Burpee, Pliihuleliihia. 

 Ur;iwn from life, immediately after the close 

 of the Centennial. Brown I,eghorns. although 

 only recently brought prominently before the 

 public, have attained a popularity excelled by 

 no other variety. They are well deserving of 

 all that can be said in their favor ; in beauty 

 of jilumage and form they an; equaled by 

 none ; in economical merits they have no 

 superior. They are not so widely known or 

 so common as the white variety, and are 

 much more dillicult to breed true to feather. 

 In breeding no variety, is the adage "blood 

 will tell," better illustrated. These fowls 

 have large, solid white ear-lobes, correct 

 combs and bright yellow legs, united with 

 symmetry and elegance of form. The i)ullets 

 are most delicately, marked with beautiful ma- 

 roon breasts of that deep rich shade so highly 

 esteemed and so ditficultto attain. Cockerels 

 have solid black breasts, and resemble the 

 black-red game in plumage. The stock of the 

 above named firm has been bred with the 

 greatest care, and is admitted to be very 

 superior. 



Pedigree. 

 Bred in 1875, from two 



flocks, headed by "All Right" 



and "Philadelphia First." 

 "All Right" figured 91 points 



as a cockerel, at Hartford, 



January, 1875; pullet "Ilart- ^^ 



ford Best," figured 93 points 



^they were the best pair on Jig: 



exhibition. " Philadelphia ^g^ 



First," with mates, won the S 



first premium at the Fancier's = 



Show, and first prize and " 



special for best pen of Leg- 



horus of any variety, at the 



Pennsylvania State Show, in 



1874 and 1875. "All Right" 



is deceased, but in his stead 



is a cock that will figure sev- 

 eral points ahead of him. A 



young cockerel of this brood 



has been sold by Mr. Burpee 



as high as $40. 



fillers, if saved at all. We may estimate the 

 number of wrapper leaves on a stalk to bo 

 nine, and that on an average, one on each 

 stock gets broken, the loss would etpial the 

 ninth part of the quantity of wrajjpers pro- 

 duced. This may surprise some. This esti- 

 mate, however, is not immoderate. 



]5ut the breaking of leaves is not unfre- 

 quently the most .serious injury which the 

 tobacco receives on the field after it is cut oil. 

 Tobacco when cut and allowed to be on the 

 field for thirty minutes exposed to the hot sun 

 will be badly burned. A leaf so damaged is 

 useless for any purpose excepting to put on 

 the manure pile. The spots on the leopard 

 are not more firmly fixed than the (/reen brittle 

 blotches caused by sun-burn. Should a tobacco 

 merchant see sun-burnt leaves in a crop he 

 purchased, he will have them pulled out as 

 cleaidy as any one would imll out of his gar- 

 den poisonous weeds should he see any 

 growing. 



A custom also prevails, in a portion of this 

 county, which is most, iiernicious. I refer to 

 the hanging up of tobacco on the field and 

 allowing it to hang there for an indefinite 



TOBACCO FARMING. 



"Preparing tobacco for 

 market," may properly be 

 said te commence with cut- 

 ting it off. 



When Should it Be Cut? 



Tobacco should be cut, 

 when, by doubling the leaf 

 under, it breaks. Before it is 

 ripe, a leaf will not break, neither by doub- 

 ling it under or over. Tobacco should not be 

 allowed to stand till it is overly ripe. When 

 the color of the leaf assumes the .shade of the 

 olive, or when it will break as above stated, 

 it should be cut ; then it will cure on the pole 

 to a delicate tea color, be firm and elastic and 

 be all the manufacturer could desire. Some 

 farmers are under the impression that a crop 

 gets heavier by not cutting it till the leaves 

 have turned quite yellowish and thick. This 

 impression is correct. But such over-ripe 

 tobacco will cin-e yellow — it will have lost its 

 native elasticity and will be very brittle. 

 AVill the gain of perhaps 5 per cent, of weight 

 not be more than neutralized by an inevitable 

 loss of from 40 to 50 per cent, of original 

 value ? Is it not more profitable to sell 1,800 

 1 bs. of leaf at 10 cents, than 2,000 lbs. at 7 

 cents, or even for less. 



How Should it Be Handled When Cut? 



With all possible care. Persons without 

 much experience in tobacco farming have no 

 idea of the tenderness of the plant and the 

 injury it is liable to sustain if not carefully 

 and properly handled. Leaves will break 

 from the weight of the stalk if not carefully 



weather. Thus expo.sed the sun broils it — 

 the rains wash off the gum from the leaves — 

 it becomes brash — a fit condition for the 

 storm winds when they smrji through it, to 

 tear and break up completely. A cvop so 

 treated will not be bought, since its true 

 character has become known to the trade, 

 excepting at a very low price for export to use 

 for a low grade of smoking tobacco. It may 

 be hung up in the field to wilt, but should he 

 boused before it rains on it. 



Housing Tobacco 



is the next thing in order. To cure well on 

 the jiole, the shed or barn should be well venti- 

 lated; with convenience tocloseu]) during pro- 

 tracted spells of dani|) weather until thoroughly 

 aged. Tobacco so damasrcd is known as 

 pole or shed-burnt. In years when the sea- 

 son of growing is most favorable — when the 

 croiis are large and fine — in those years' crojjs 

 is found to be the largest quantity of shed 

 burnt tobacco. A building 24 by 24 feet, 17 

 feet high with comb roof will accommodate 

 the ])roducts of an acre, sujiposing that it was 

 planted the proper distance apart, viz : '.\k 

 feet one way by 2i feet the other way. What 

 farmers, in this age and this country, would 



laid down when cut off ; and a leaf broken at ] think of growing a crop of corn witiiout ]>ro- 

 this stage, no matter how large and fine, if i vidiug jiroper and sullicient room to house it ? 

 not lost before it is housed, must go to the | Yet, tobacco may be seen hanging up, not in 



sheds or barns iiiei)ar(d for that purpose, but 

 above ben-ruosts and wagon sheds and on 

 garrets, the most inconvenient and unsuitable 

 places; where, to hang it, it gels torn— and 

 to take it down, it gets more torn. Is it not 

 as necessary, and will the investment not i>ay 

 as well, to erect i)roper and convenient build- 

 ings to house tobacco as any other crop. 

 However, this shiftless way of housing tobacco 

 in this county is not the rule but the excep- 

 tion. Many have erected suitable buildings 

 with all the conveniences to house their croi)s; 

 and it is a pleasure to the buyer when he 

 comes along to look at the crops so provided 

 for. 



Stripping Tobacco 



should never be done before the sap has dried 

 out of the stems thoroughly— when thoy will 

 break like glass ; then as soon as tiie leaves, 

 together with the stems, have got soft and 

 pliable again from moisture of the atmos- 

 phere, it may safely be stripped. If the crop 

 was cut early, it will be sulficiently cured 

 to strip by the first of .Tanuary. If the sap 

 is not all dried out of the stems, they will 

 rot when the tobacco is bulked down and will 

 imimrt :i very unpleasant odor to the .soimd 

 ',;W.3ft't'iif in the bulk. Sometimes 

 J^when the stems have much 

 ■ia]i when stripped, the whole 

 liulk of tobacco will be dam- 

 aged thereby. 



Assorting Tobacco 



pro|)erly into grades is of the' 

 lighe.tt imjiortance. A crop, 

 no matter how luxuriantly it 

 grows in size and finenes.s — 

 m matter how carefully it 

 was handled when cut and 

 housed — no matter how well 

 it was cured on the pole — if it 

 i< not projierly assorted into 

 grades and sizes when .strip- 

 p:'d, the farmer iiays dearly 

 fur such carelessness. All 

 the hanks of many a crop of 

 dbacco after being sold are 

 igain opened by the buyer 

 uid re-assorted and .sized 

 leforc he i)acks it in ca.ses. 

 This work is attended with 

 the expense of from one to 

 wo cents a pound which the 

 luyer pays to have it done. 

 s it not reasonable, that the 

 luyer, for his own protection, 

 nust buy tobacco for at least 

 wo cents tmder its intrinsic 

 market value or he would 

 • money? If he would 

 not, it would only be a question of time when 

 his capital would be sunk and he would be 

 obliged to quit the field. 



How should it be assorted '? Into as many 

 sorts as there are grades and sizes. This will 

 make fillers, binders, and three or four sizes 

 of wrappers. IIow is this to be done ? 



Erect tables, at least six feet long and 

 three feet wide. This will accommodate a 

 set of strippers which shoidd, for convenience 

 sake, consist of three persons. One person to 

 strip the leaves oft' from the stalk ; one per- 

 son to assort them ; and one person to tie 

 them into hanks. 



The strip|)er takes off all the ground leaves 

 and places them on the table ; the assortcr 

 will assort them into fillers and binders. Then 

 the strijiper will take off the balance of the 

 leaves on the stalk. Then the assorter will 

 pick out all the worm-eaten and torn leaves, 

 if they don't make good binders thejf must 

 go to the filler pile ; then he will assort the 

 balance, which are good leaves, into not less 

 than two sizes. This is the way tliat every 

 stalk should be strijiped and assorted. AVheu- 

 ever there are from 18 to 20 leaves on the 

 filler pile, the tier will tie them into a hank ; 

 when there are from 12 to IS leaves on the 

 binder pile, he will tie them into a hank ; and 

 when there are from 8 to 12 leaves on a wrap- 



